word count: 397 Final Exam Essay 1 1) Identify ways that corporations are a sustainability problem, referencing at least four examples from films you watched this semester.
Corporations are a sustainability problem. The main goal of a company is to make a profit. This often causes people to take short-cuts in their pursuit of money and those short-cuts often end with environmental impacts. One short-cut is outsourcing production to China. In the film Manufactured Landscapes, there is a five minute continuous moving shot from within a factory in China. Though these factories provide jobs in poor communities and are now fairly clean and safe, many of the products end up in landfills which are then shipped back to China for poorer people in poorer communities to sift through to find anything left of value.[1] This cycle occurs as corporations strive to achieve quantity over quality because it is better in their minds to sell a million cheap ipods every year that only last for a year than to sell five hundred thousand at double the price every year that will last for two years. By building in an expected lifespan of a product, corporations are creating consumers who are forced to return to buy a newer and working item. Companies do this not only by selling a product, but also by selling a lifestyle. In the movie The Persuaders, researchers investigate the most effective ways to advertise for a product. By using certain images or certain key phrases, the customer identifies with the product and buys into it and the company.[2] Another issue is when companies cut corners for building regulations. The film The Yes Men Fix the World shows the actors attempting to bring coverage back to the Bhopal tragedy. The Bhopal disaster occurred because the safety regulations were not kept up because that particular plant was no longer bringing in profits for the company.[3] The company was then bought by a larger corporation and though a corporation has the rights of a person they cannot be punished in the same manner as a person.[4] Corporations have also been allowed to become international. Only a few corporations own most of the world’s water supply and this creates a dangerous situation as a near monopoly is formed.[5] Corporations will attempt to make a profit on anything that they can, and it is up to the government to draw the line between a national necessity such as water and a commodity.
word count: 438 Final Exam Essay 2
2) Describe how science can be a sustainability problem, referencing at least four examples from films you watched this semester.
Science can be a sustainability problem. Scientific research has an inherent bias that is built into the study through either the scientist or the group providing the funding for the research. The movie The Persuaders showed us how companies use a particular vocabulary in their advertising to convey a certain message and get a predicted response from viewers. These same companies may fun scientific research which immediately puts a bias on not only the results but also the manner in which the results are conveyed to the public. This creates a huge sustainability problem when the public can only view scientific research through the specific lens of profit driven companies. This enables a consumer to desire products that they do not need, and also taints ‘proven’ outcomes of research.[6] In the film, The End of the Line, studies were done to try to determine the number of certain species of fish left in the ocean. Different research groups reported different results, while some studies were done to simply determine the level of difficulty in determining accurate results. There are a lot of variables when trying to count a fish species and the different interest groups were all able to support their own claims, which casts a shadow over the reliability of any of the studies.[7] One of the most neutral locations for scientific research is at a university but even there, professors are required to publish a certain prescribed amount per year which can cap or push studies in certain directions in order to meet these specific requirements. Advancements in science have also allowed for the copyrighting of living things. The movie Panacae or Poison showed that farmers growing corn have been sued by companies who developed advanced genetically modified crops for growing corn that was cross-contaminated with their advanced crop. The farmers would have preferred completely unmodified crops, but once the change is in the field, it is near impossible to remove it.[8] The film What’s on your plate? identified some of the problems with eating genetically modified foods which shows that advancements in science are not always beneficial to the population. Creating foods that have built in pesticides, or injecting cows with hormones, means that we are poisoning ourselves with these new science experiments and the long term effects of this toxic leak of chemicals into our diets cannot yet be properly proven.[9] Though science is often viewed as a solution to sustainability problems, it has also helped to create many of the problems we are battling today.
word count: 569 Final Exam Essay 3
3) Describe ways that mainstream media is a sustainability problem, referencing at least four examples from films you watched this semester.
Mainstream media is a sustainability problem in a similar way that science is an issue. Media can be bought by particular interest groups that then take advantage of the media platform to push their specific agendas. For example, in the film The Corporation, Monsanto threatened the news company from broadcasting a story that would negatively impact their company. The threats got less and less veiled and the network put pressure on the reporters to cut the story. The reporters felt obliged to warn the public about the dangers of Monsanto’s hormone injections in cows, yet their story ended up being controlled to such a degree that the threat was almost neutralized and the real story that they had discovered was not revealed. The news station did not want to lose the profits it gained from commercials from Monsanto products.[10] The media is inherently biased, yet its people’s main source of information. Many people hear the news through comedy news reports and this holds another issue. Just as the news station desires to air the stories that will help draw viewership and therefore profit, comedy news wants to tell the stories that they can make a joke about. Sometimes the stories are serious, and they do air serious interviews, but the reason people watch the show night after night is to hear the jokes. They accept the bias with comedy news because it does not pretend to be something it is not.[11] The movie The Yes Men Fix the World demonstrates another issue with the media. Images are powerful. The main actors in the film interview major supporters of capitalism. Instead of presenting their opinions as a serious opposition, the discussion turns to what they would like their background image to be. The viewer is then focused on the image in the background and not on what the expert is actually saying. The images are also comical so the viewer is much less likely to take what is being said seriously since it is contrasted against a funny background.[12] Another issue with mainstream media is that it contains commercials. Not all advertisements are in two minute commercial breaks either. America’s Next Top Model has the girls shoot a CoverGirl commercial and pushes the make up within the show. In the Transformer’s movies, the cars are Chevys. In Project Runway, the prize is a spread in Elle magazine and a cover of Vogue Italia. This may be the worst of the examples, since this subliminal messaging actually links the viewer to another form of media that is full of more advertising. In the film The Persuaders, researches actually do studies to test the language and effectiveness of certain phrases and images on specific user groups to help make the ad more effective. An ad that says Drink Absolut has a start and a finish. An ad that says Drink Absolut AND You Will Gain This Lifestyle is much more effective for selling the product. This technique calls for more subliminal advertising, where the product is more obscured and the message of the effect is highlighted. These types of ads tell consumers that their current state of life is not satisfactory and if they buy products, they can alter this. A vicious cycle is then created as the world shifts into a state of mass consumerism. [13]
word count: 592 Final Exam Essay 4
4) Describe how the advertising industry a sustainability problem. Discuss the environmental implications of “communication for commerce,” the effort to create emotional connections between consumers, commodities and companies, and the cultivation of “loyalty beyond reason” (The Persuaders). Also discuss whether sustainability advocates should borrow techniques from the adverting industry to advance their message.
The advertising industry is a major sustainability issue. The goal of ads is to convince a consumer to buy a particular type of product. The consumer typically wishes for the ‘best’ functioning product. The issue in today’s world is that there are a lot of options which gives the consumer the choice. As soon as there are options, each product attempts to outshine the others, and they do this through advertising. Right now, the ‘in thing’ is ‘GREEN’. Everyone is concerned about sustainability. Every architect’s website now contains a Sustainable Design tab even if that is not their main concern or the client they wish to attract. Almost every shampoo is either in a green bottle, says ‘natural’ or ‘organic’, or has images of leaves or other things from nature. This is all advertising. The issue is that all of these ads are hiding what the product actually is and what is actually being sold. In the film The Persuaders, an airline company invested a lot of money into creating an advertising campaign to push their new airline. The issue was that people who entered their location in a mall could not determine what the company actually was. Many people thought it was a travel agency. This particular company had been more worried about selling the lifestyle of their airline than tickets. This is bad for the company and confusing for the consumer.[14] However, when the ads work too well, the consumer is then convinced to buy products that they do not need which furthers the entire consumer society in which we now live. This is done by making a connection between the consumer and the product. When this connection goes further, the consumer feels connected to the company as well, creating a loyal customer. I have an ipod, and I enjoy the lifestyle of dancing to my music that the ipod ads demonstrate. I also desire a ‘mac user lifestyle’ where apple products create a sleek and streamlined appearance and also show a creative and artsy side to their user. Another issue is that companies are in business to make money. Though I fully support this notion, a consumer should choose a particular product because they need it or because it is the best in quality or function, not because an ad said to buy it. The environmental impact of this “communication for commerce” is the constant disposal of items. A lifestyle is sold, and when it does not magicaly appear, consumers throw out the original product and search to find a replacement that may bring them closer to that fantasy lifestyle. This makes the companies money, but has a huge environmental cost as our landfills keep increasing. The advertising industry employs researched techniques to create loyal consumers and to sell their products. If the sustainability advocates start to do the same, they will blend in with everything else. The effectiveness of their message is that it is clear and unpadded. It is important enough to clearly state. My shampoo clearly states that it does not contain sulfate or other inorganic chemicals on its very simple label. I can pronounce and understand everything on its packaging. It is something I can relate to and that appears to be showing an honest story. As soon as it tries to dress itself in fancy wording to try to sell better, it loses its purity as to its message. Sustainability is a problem the world is now facing. It does not need a bow and glitter to make it stand out better.
word count: 338 Final Exam Essay 5
5) Discuss how Internet communication and other forms of new media are sustainability problems, as well as a means to sustainability solutions.
Internet communication is a sustainability issue. When a person is online, they tend to be multi-tasking, whether they have a dozen internet tabs open or a few programs running or are simply watching TV at the same time. This causes the internet to truncate everything. Images are reduced to thumbnails, and important news stories and minimized to headlines. A user is then bombarded with hundreds of these messages every time they open an internet browser. This does provide the opportunity to access many different things all at once and to stumble across something one would not have otherwise known about. It also allows the user to dive further into a topic in which they are interested. This is effective for getting new ideas across but it also gives a voice to everyone who wishes to use theirs. I am not advocating for a removal of free speech, but showing that not everything that appears truthful in the Internet is actually well researched fact. The first thing all professors in college say is to never, ever use Wikipedia as a source for a paper, project or presentation. Just because the internet displays something, does not mean it is truthful. The quick eye-catching technique also gives sway to the persuasive techniques the advertising industry uses effectively which is another topic and paper. The internet can also work to be a solution to the problem though. Since it allows everyone to have a voice, people can actively discuss issues and can broadcast personal solutions. The ability to ‘share’ a link through communication sites, allows for the instant transfer of information and can allow for a movement to easily gain notice, popularity and support. The internet also gives people the opportunity to test ideas, such as someone wanted to start an organic farm for a certain location can then find investors and clients and support from other organic farmers around the country. The internet allows information to be easily and readily available which helps people stay current with the most pressing issues.
word count: 321 Final Exam Essay 6
7) In a 2010 NY Magazine article, Jon Stewart describes his media team as "Soil enrichers. Maybe we can add a little fertilizer to the soil so that real people can come along and grow things.” What does Stewart mean, and how persuaded are you by the metaphor? The NY Magazine article is "America is a Joke"
Comedy news shows glimpses into the full news story. For example, Jon Stewart’s show is only half an hour which should immediately demonstrate that there simply is not enough time to fully invest in every breaking news story. People argue that comedy news plays an important role in the news since it gets people interested in the stories, and with the invention of the internet, people now have the ability to easily search out new information for themselves. Jon Stewart’s line that his team and thus his show works to enrich the soil so that the real people can grow things works under this assumption. The metaphor fits the situation, but does not show the entire truth of the matter. Studies show that people watch television to turn their brains off. Possibly a news show would keep a higher brain function of their audience, but many people watch comedy news as their sole source of news. Though they accept that their source is biased, they often do not seek out the full story, and if they do, it will be on only a fraction of the stories briefly mentioned. Stewart meant that his show helps to spark interest in a topic. His team finds something interesting and they draw attention to it in the hopes that the people would then seek out the rest. The issue with comedy news is that there is no guarantee that people will show enough motivation to do this, though one can also argue that some news is better than no news at all. Personally, as a pressed for time college student, a bit of comedy news here and there keeps me aware of the latest topics which lets me investigate them further on my own, though while watching, I accept that I am not getting the full story and the one I am receiving is through a very specific lens aimed at full comedic effect.
word count: 801 Final Exam Essay 7
10) Explain, from your point of view, what the US government should do to advance environmental sustainability. What should the US government notdo? Together, your lists should include at least six items. Include concrete example to illustrate your points.
US Government should do:
Subsidize companies that make an effort to shift towards organic and natural products – Companies need financial incentive to start to ‘go green’ so if the government helps to get the ball rolling in that direction, there can then be a healthy level of corporate competition that is simply working towards a more sustainable end goal. It costs a lot of money to make the switch to more sustainable products and manufacturing systems, so government assistance could also help buffer this initial cost.
regulate the amount of toxic substances that enter our food system and our daily lives – The government has a responsibility to protect its people and there are too many systems that fly under the radar because they are financially beneficially but are also creating toxic substances. In the film Split Estate, residents of a Colorado town are being slowly poisoned by the industry that moved into the area. Tying this with the next point, the government should assume that industry is causing the health risks until industry could prove otherwise. The other issue is that once we create and allow genetically modified food, it is near impossible to remove it. This could create widespread famine due to lack of diversity in crops as well as massive long term effects on populations that have not yet been studied or proven.
work under the precautionary principle – It is often said that the best offense is a good defense. If we acted before we were forced to react, the world would be a different place. For example, if we limited the amount of allowable fishing before proving we had hunted specific species of fish to extinction, would could maintain ecosystems as well as fish species.[15]
aid in the shift towards more nutritious school lunch programs – Obesity is a growing national issue (no pun intended). If children had access to more nutritious food and drink choices and were educated about the short and long term effects of those choices, they would grow into healthier adults. The film What’s On Your Plate? shows this story in a New York City school district. An issue the school systems hit is the lack of resources to make successful switches. If the government began to regulate this and played more of a role in the switch, nutritious school lunch programs could finally get the support they need to be successful.
limit the advertising for fast food aimed at children – In the film The Persuaders, researchers show that commercials aimed at children teach them to whine because their parents are more likely to buy them the desired toy if they whine. This has created a generation of selfish brats who have been taught by the media to complain every time something does not go their way. Limiting or controlling toy commercials would hit a lot of resistance, but teaching children to eat healthier could help the country’s obesity problem. And if the children are less likely to whine for fast food, the parents are less likely to eat it themselves, and the children are more likely to grow into adults who do not value fast food.
preserve natural resources – The government should work to preserve ecosystems as well as fuel sources.
US Government should NOT do:
allow patents of living things – Right now the law still says that this is illegal, yet the patent office has allowed it. The government should not allow the patent office to allow patents on living things or pieces of genetic code. If you project this situation out into the future, people could have to pay for having blue eyes because some company owns that piece of genetic code.
cap corporate paychecks – The goal of business is to make money and as soon as you cap progress, the system falls apart. One simply needs to teach business how to make money in a sustainable and more socially profitable manner.
dam water ways – Our current system of dams and dam building is extremely unsustainable and has not been tested long enough to determine the long term effect. Dams such as Three Gorges in China which is built at a massive scale will have a massive environmental impact.
censor the internet – We have freedom and speech and everyone should be allowed to share their voice and the internet is the main way for people to do so.
enforce environmental solutions onto other countries – The US needs to keep America’s best interest in mind, and let other countries figure out what solutions are in their best interest.
advertise ‘key words’ in their political campaigns – Just as the trend is shifting towards natural products, it would be refreshing to have a natural politician who actually talked about the issues he was going to work on while in office.
word count: 529 Final Exam Essay 8
12) Identify ten developments (in education, law, media, etc) that you think would help mobilize greater public awareness of and commitment to environmental sustainability.
EDUCATION – If children were taught about the lifecycle of products, they could be better informed consumers. In the film Manufactured Landscapes, the audience views the creation of an iron and then sees a pile of irons in a landfill. It is a truly moving sequence of images, and if children were taught that our actions and our consumption has a greater and more long term effect, people would consume differently and the shift would go back to quality and function rather than speed and readability.
LAW – Chemicals in food products should be assumed dangerous until safe quantities of consumption can be determined. Many studies only explain the effects of a chemical at a high exposure and insist that a smaller exposure would reduce these effects, but there are no studies proving this to be the actual case.
EDUCATION – If children were taught about the lifecycle of food, they could understand how to eat healthier. Once a child truly understands how an apple grows on a tree and is then picked and put on their plate they will begin to recognize that funyuns do not undergo that same process and are much more difficult to understand and therefore digest.
EDUCATION – People should be taught how to cook. Once a person realizes how quick and inexpensive it is to put a burger on a grill and make sweet potato fries from scratch, they will be less likely to run to the McDonalds to order two BigMacs. As a college student living on my own for the first time, I ate very unhealthy for the first few years until I had a roommate who was on an extremely tight budget and showed me how simple most dishes were to cook and the advantages of the spice rack.
CULTURE – We need to develop a small plate and portion size. Everyone knows that their eyes are bigger than their stomachs yet some people refuse to leave a plate with food on it. If the plates and portions were smaller, people could actually consume a full, well-proportioned meal while still being able to finish their plate. Over the past 1000 years, plates have increased in size by sixty-six percent.[16]
GOVERNMENT – The government needs to provide incentive for companies to invest in more sustainable products and manufacturing processes.
MEDIA – If the media developed a system for exposing the extremely un-environmentally-friendly practices of companies, corporations would have a further incentive to push towards sustainability to avoid the negative press.
MEDIA – If the media could prove the credibility of their sources they would be more effective. I stopped watching news channels when they started showing lines from people’s personal blogs. A development towards factual and unbiased media could help push the importance of environmental sustainability.
ARCHITECTURE – Advancements in building technologies would help raise public awareness and increase corporations’ desire to work in sustainable and LEED certified environments.
ARCHITECTURE – Developments in site specific building would help create structures that utilized their natural surroundings to lessen its environmental impact. For example, designing around the root system of an existing forest, or angling a building on a site to gain full advantage of a common wind direction or sun angle.
word count: 384 Final Exam Essay 9
13) Imagine that you are teaching high school seniors about environmental controversies. How would you advise them to make sense of the controversy around hydrofraking for natural gas? What questions would you encourage them to ask in analyzing all environmental controversies they encounter? In answering this question, you can draw on news accessible here: http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/.
To teach a class about environmental controversies, I would first point out that the issue in question was always started for a particular advantage. I would advise the class to investigate the actual process itself as well as the intended purpose. For instance, mountaintop removal was invented so that coal mines did not have to be created. This helped to prevent mine collapses as well as all of the negative health effects associated with coal mines. It is also faster and cheaper to remove a mountain top than to dig under the mountain. I would then ask them to research what the actual process is. To properly criticize anything, one must first understand how it works. In the case of hydrofraking, I would also have them look into the locations where this process is most effective and most desirable. Once the students understand why, where and how the process is done, I would then have them look into the larger impact of the process. This is the area where most of the controversies would arise. To help them analyze the issue, I would encourage them to ask when the studies were done, and to create a timeline of events. Many controversies attempt to prove links between events that happened years in the past, other events are much more recent but may extend for a longer period of time. I would have the students investigate the impacts on the ecosystems and environment as well as the impact on humans and our food and water supplies. I would then encourage them to ask if there was a safer, more environmentally friendly way to do the same process or to get the same end result? Or is that end result able to be replaced by a better and more sustainable end result? In my own research, I found it extremely useful to study the specific viewpoints of various interest groups, so I would probably have the students debate, but have them argue the position of a certain corporation or organization. This would help them understand the different sides and viewpoints of the controversy but also get a glimpse at the larger matrix as issues of profit, leadership, government, media etc begin to enter the equation through the interest groups that have an invested interest in the issue.
word count: 406 Final Exam Essay 10
17). Write a 400-word biosketch that describes where you will be and what you will have accomplished twenty years from now. The biosketch should be narrative rather than resume style. Include basic biographical and educational information, the expertise you have built and have become known for, and a brief description of important projects you have been a part of over this period of time. For an example, see the Wikipedia entry for Paul Farmer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Farmer
In twenty years, I will be an accomplished jewelry designer living in London. After having graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in May of 2012, I will have worked for a successful architecture firm in Manhattan for the three required years to qualify to take the licensing exam. While at the firm, I will help them develop a new technology that creates a ‘green wall’ on buildings. This sort of advancement would help buildings become more sustainable by helping insulate the building, producing oxygen and giving back to the overall appearance of the community. This sort of wall will also connect to a roof drainage and filtration system that will help drain and process water to help provide the house with a clean and efficient water supply. After another two years spent taking the exam, I will move to London with my architecture degree and license. Once there, I will start my own jewelry business that specializes in 3D modeling of unique pieces that can then be 3D printed using special machines. I will keep the business at a boutique level instead of shifting towards more costume and mass-produced jewelry. My expertise will be in metalworking skills, though I will also be able to create my own glass accents for the pieces. A rising star will purchase one of my pieces and my popularity will increase as I gain a reputation for having jewelry that was made completely from scratch and that is completely unique. While in this industry, I will work towards developing finishes that will not leak chemicals into the system in its creation process. I will also work on a way to decrease the amount of plastics used in jewelry. Most costume jewelry can be made with real materials for only a little bit more than the fake pieces that are made and imported in from China. By using proper techniques to make the pieces last longer, and by pushing quality over quantity, I will make a major impact in the jewelry design world. A university will ask me to teach design classes and I will then be able to teach both the architectural design I learned in school and at the firm, but also the marketing and selling skills that are also needed to be a successful designer, which is an aspect that is often overlooked in school. I will also be married and have two children and a cat and a dog.
Final Exam Essay 1
1) Identify ways that corporations are a sustainability problem, referencing at least four examples from films you watched this semester.
Corporations are a sustainability problem. The main goal of a company is to make a profit. This often causes people to take short-cuts in their pursuit of money and those short-cuts often end with environmental impacts. One short-cut is outsourcing production to China. In the film Manufactured Landscapes, there is a five minute continuous moving shot from within a factory in China. Though these factories provide jobs in poor communities and are now fairly clean and safe, many of the products end up in landfills which are then shipped back to China for poorer people in poorer communities to sift through to find anything left of value.[1] This cycle occurs as corporations strive to achieve quantity over quality because it is better in their minds to sell a million cheap ipods every year that only last for a year than to sell five hundred thousand at double the price every year that will last for two years. By building in an expected lifespan of a product, corporations are creating consumers who are forced to return to buy a newer and working item. Companies do this not only by selling a product, but also by selling a lifestyle. In the movie The Persuaders, researchers investigate the most effective ways to advertise for a product. By using certain images or certain key phrases, the customer identifies with the product and buys into it and the company.[2] Another issue is when companies cut corners for building regulations. The film The Yes Men Fix the World shows the actors attempting to bring coverage back to the Bhopal tragedy. The Bhopal disaster occurred because the safety regulations were not kept up because that particular plant was no longer bringing in profits for the company.[3] The company was then bought by a larger corporation and though a corporation has the rights of a person they cannot be punished in the same manner as a person.[4] Corporations have also been allowed to become international. Only a few corporations own most of the world’s water supply and this creates a dangerous situation as a near monopoly is formed.[5] Corporations will attempt to make a profit on anything that they can, and it is up to the government to draw the line between a national necessity such as water and a commodity.
word count: 438
Final Exam Essay 2
2) Describe how science can be a sustainability problem, referencing at least four examples from films you watched this semester.
Science can be a sustainability problem. Scientific research has an inherent bias that is built into the study through either the scientist or the group providing the funding for the research. The movie The Persuaders showed us how companies use a particular vocabulary in their advertising to convey a certain message and get a predicted response from viewers. These same companies may fun scientific research which immediately puts a bias on not only the results but also the manner in which the results are conveyed to the public. This creates a huge sustainability problem when the public can only view scientific research through the specific lens of profit driven companies. This enables a consumer to desire products that they do not need, and also taints ‘proven’ outcomes of research.[6] In the film, The End of the Line, studies were done to try to determine the number of certain species of fish left in the ocean. Different research groups reported different results, while some studies were done to simply determine the level of difficulty in determining accurate results. There are a lot of variables when trying to count a fish species and the different interest groups were all able to support their own claims, which casts a shadow over the reliability of any of the studies.[7] One of the most neutral locations for scientific research is at a university but even there, professors are required to publish a certain prescribed amount per year which can cap or push studies in certain directions in order to meet these specific requirements. Advancements in science have also allowed for the copyrighting of living things. The movie Panacae or Poison showed that farmers growing corn have been sued by companies who developed advanced genetically modified crops for growing corn that was cross-contaminated with their advanced crop. The farmers would have preferred completely unmodified crops, but once the change is in the field, it is near impossible to remove it.[8] The film What’s on your plate? identified some of the problems with eating genetically modified foods which shows that advancements in science are not always beneficial to the population. Creating foods that have built in pesticides, or injecting cows with hormones, means that we are poisoning ourselves with these new science experiments and the long term effects of this toxic leak of chemicals into our diets cannot yet be properly proven.[9] Though science is often viewed as a solution to sustainability problems, it has also helped to create many of the problems we are battling today.
word count: 569
Final Exam Essay 3
3) Describe ways that mainstream media is a sustainability problem, referencing at least four examples from films you watched this semester.
Mainstream media is a sustainability problem in a similar way that science is an issue. Media can be bought by particular interest groups that then take advantage of the media platform to push their specific agendas. For example, in the film The Corporation, Monsanto threatened the news company from broadcasting a story that would negatively impact their company. The threats got less and less veiled and the network put pressure on the reporters to cut the story. The reporters felt obliged to warn the public about the dangers of Monsanto’s hormone injections in cows, yet their story ended up being controlled to such a degree that the threat was almost neutralized and the real story that they had discovered was not revealed. The news station did not want to lose the profits it gained from commercials from Monsanto products.[10] The media is inherently biased, yet its people’s main source of information. Many people hear the news through comedy news reports and this holds another issue. Just as the news station desires to air the stories that will help draw viewership and therefore profit, comedy news wants to tell the stories that they can make a joke about. Sometimes the stories are serious, and they do air serious interviews, but the reason people watch the show night after night is to hear the jokes. They accept the bias with comedy news because it does not pretend to be something it is not.[11] The movie The Yes Men Fix the World demonstrates another issue with the media. Images are powerful. The main actors in the film interview major supporters of capitalism. Instead of presenting their opinions as a serious opposition, the discussion turns to what they would like their background image to be. The viewer is then focused on the image in the background and not on what the expert is actually saying. The images are also comical so the viewer is much less likely to take what is being said seriously since it is contrasted against a funny background.[12] Another issue with mainstream media is that it contains commercials. Not all advertisements are in two minute commercial breaks either. America’s Next Top Model has the girls shoot a CoverGirl commercial and pushes the make up within the show. In the Transformer’s movies, the cars are Chevys. In Project Runway, the prize is a spread in Elle magazine and a cover of Vogue Italia. This may be the worst of the examples, since this subliminal messaging actually links the viewer to another form of media that is full of more advertising. In the film The Persuaders, researches actually do studies to test the language and effectiveness of certain phrases and images on specific user groups to help make the ad more effective. An ad that says Drink Absolut has a start and a finish. An ad that says Drink Absolut AND You Will Gain This Lifestyle is much more effective for selling the product. This technique calls for more subliminal advertising, where the product is more obscured and the message of the effect is highlighted. These types of ads tell consumers that their current state of life is not satisfactory and if they buy products, they can alter this. A vicious cycle is then created as the world shifts into a state of mass consumerism. [13]
word count: 592
Final Exam Essay 4
4) Describe how the advertising industry a sustainability problem. Discuss the environmental implications of “communication for commerce,” the effort to create emotional connections between consumers, commodities and companies, and the cultivation of “loyalty beyond reason” (The Persuaders). Also discuss whether sustainability advocates should borrow techniques from the adverting industry to advance their message.
The advertising industry is a major sustainability issue. The goal of ads is to convince a consumer to buy a particular type of product. The consumer typically wishes for the ‘best’ functioning product. The issue in today’s world is that there are a lot of options which gives the consumer the choice. As soon as there are options, each product attempts to outshine the others, and they do this through advertising. Right now, the ‘in thing’ is ‘GREEN’. Everyone is concerned about sustainability. Every architect’s website now contains a Sustainable Design tab even if that is not their main concern or the client they wish to attract. Almost every shampoo is either in a green bottle, says ‘natural’ or ‘organic’, or has images of leaves or other things from nature. This is all advertising. The issue is that all of these ads are hiding what the product actually is and what is actually being sold. In the film The Persuaders, an airline company invested a lot of money into creating an advertising campaign to push their new airline. The issue was that people who entered their location in a mall could not determine what the company actually was. Many people thought it was a travel agency. This particular company had been more worried about selling the lifestyle of their airline than tickets. This is bad for the company and confusing for the consumer.[14] However, when the ads work too well, the consumer is then convinced to buy products that they do not need which furthers the entire consumer society in which we now live. This is done by making a connection between the consumer and the product. When this connection goes further, the consumer feels connected to the company as well, creating a loyal customer. I have an ipod, and I enjoy the lifestyle of dancing to my music that the ipod ads demonstrate. I also desire a ‘mac user lifestyle’ where apple products create a sleek and streamlined appearance and also show a creative and artsy side to their user. Another issue is that companies are in business to make money. Though I fully support this notion, a consumer should choose a particular product because they need it or because it is the best in quality or function, not because an ad said to buy it. The environmental impact of this “communication for commerce” is the constant disposal of items. A lifestyle is sold, and when it does not magicaly appear, consumers throw out the original product and search to find a replacement that may bring them closer to that fantasy lifestyle. This makes the companies money, but has a huge environmental cost as our landfills keep increasing. The advertising industry employs researched techniques to create loyal consumers and to sell their products. If the sustainability advocates start to do the same, they will blend in with everything else. The effectiveness of their message is that it is clear and unpadded. It is important enough to clearly state. My shampoo clearly states that it does not contain sulfate or other inorganic chemicals on its very simple label. I can pronounce and understand everything on its packaging. It is something I can relate to and that appears to be showing an honest story. As soon as it tries to dress itself in fancy wording to try to sell better, it loses its purity as to its message. Sustainability is a problem the world is now facing. It does not need a bow and glitter to make it stand out better.
word count: 338
Final Exam Essay 5
5) Discuss how Internet communication and other forms of new media are sustainability problems, as well as a means to sustainability solutions.
Internet communication is a sustainability issue. When a person is online, they tend to be multi-tasking, whether they have a dozen internet tabs open or a few programs running or are simply watching TV at the same time. This causes the internet to truncate everything. Images are reduced to thumbnails, and important news stories and minimized to headlines. A user is then bombarded with hundreds of these messages every time they open an internet browser. This does provide the opportunity to access many different things all at once and to stumble across something one would not have otherwise known about. It also allows the user to dive further into a topic in which they are interested. This is effective for getting new ideas across but it also gives a voice to everyone who wishes to use theirs. I am not advocating for a removal of free speech, but showing that not everything that appears truthful in the Internet is actually well researched fact. The first thing all professors in college say is to never, ever use Wikipedia as a source for a paper, project or presentation. Just because the internet displays something, does not mean it is truthful. The quick eye-catching technique also gives sway to the persuasive techniques the advertising industry uses effectively which is another topic and paper. The internet can also work to be a solution to the problem though. Since it allows everyone to have a voice, people can actively discuss issues and can broadcast personal solutions. The ability to ‘share’ a link through communication sites, allows for the instant transfer of information and can allow for a movement to easily gain notice, popularity and support. The internet also gives people the opportunity to test ideas, such as someone wanted to start an organic farm for a certain location can then find investors and clients and support from other organic farmers around the country. The internet allows information to be easily and readily available which helps people stay current with the most pressing issues.
word count: 321
Final Exam Essay 6
7) In a 2010 NY Magazine article, Jon Stewart describes his media team as "Soil enrichers. Maybe we can add a little fertilizer to the soil so that real people can come along and grow things.” What does Stewart mean, and how persuaded are you by the metaphor? The NY Magazine article is "America is a Joke"
Comedy news shows glimpses into the full news story. For example, Jon Stewart’s show is only half an hour which should immediately demonstrate that there simply is not enough time to fully invest in every breaking news story. People argue that comedy news plays an important role in the news since it gets people interested in the stories, and with the invention of the internet, people now have the ability to easily search out new information for themselves. Jon Stewart’s line that his team and thus his show works to enrich the soil so that the real people can grow things works under this assumption. The metaphor fits the situation, but does not show the entire truth of the matter. Studies show that people watch television to turn their brains off. Possibly a news show would keep a higher brain function of their audience, but many people watch comedy news as their sole source of news. Though they accept that their source is biased, they often do not seek out the full story, and if they do, it will be on only a fraction of the stories briefly mentioned. Stewart meant that his show helps to spark interest in a topic. His team finds something interesting and they draw attention to it in the hopes that the people would then seek out the rest. The issue with comedy news is that there is no guarantee that people will show enough motivation to do this, though one can also argue that some news is better than no news at all. Personally, as a pressed for time college student, a bit of comedy news here and there keeps me aware of the latest topics which lets me investigate them further on my own, though while watching, I accept that I am not getting the full story and the one I am receiving is through a very specific lens aimed at full comedic effect.
word count: 801
Final Exam Essay 7
10) Explain, from your point of view, what the US government should do to advance environmental sustainability. What should the US government not do? Together, your lists should include at least six items. Include concrete example to illustrate your points.
US Government should do:
US Government should NOT do:
word count: 529
Final Exam Essay 8
12) Identify ten developments (in education, law, media, etc) that you think would help mobilize greater public awareness of and commitment to environmental sustainability.
word count: 384
Final Exam Essay 9
13) Imagine that you are teaching high school seniors about environmental controversies. How would you advise them to make sense of the controversy around hydrofraking for natural gas? What questions would you encourage them to ask in analyzing all environmental controversies they encounter? In answering this question, you can draw on news accessible here: http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/.
To teach a class about environmental controversies, I would first point out that the issue in question was always started for a particular advantage. I would advise the class to investigate the actual process itself as well as the intended purpose. For instance, mountaintop removal was invented so that coal mines did not have to be created. This helped to prevent mine collapses as well as all of the negative health effects associated with coal mines. It is also faster and cheaper to remove a mountain top than to dig under the mountain. I would then ask them to research what the actual process is. To properly criticize anything, one must first understand how it works. In the case of hydrofraking, I would also have them look into the locations where this process is most effective and most desirable. Once the students understand why, where and how the process is done, I would then have them look into the larger impact of the process. This is the area where most of the controversies would arise. To help them analyze the issue, I would encourage them to ask when the studies were done, and to create a timeline of events. Many controversies attempt to prove links between events that happened years in the past, other events are much more recent but may extend for a longer period of time. I would have the students investigate the impacts on the ecosystems and environment as well as the impact on humans and our food and water supplies. I would then encourage them to ask if there was a safer, more environmentally friendly way to do the same process or to get the same end result? Or is that end result able to be replaced by a better and more sustainable end result? In my own research, I found it extremely useful to study the specific viewpoints of various interest groups, so I would probably have the students debate, but have them argue the position of a certain corporation or organization. This would help them understand the different sides and viewpoints of the controversy but also get a glimpse at the larger matrix as issues of profit, leadership, government, media etc begin to enter the equation through the interest groups that have an invested interest in the issue.
word count: 406
Final Exam Essay 10
17). Write a 400-word biosketch that describes where you will be and what you will have accomplished twenty years from now. The biosketch should be narrative rather than resume style. Include basic biographical and educational information, the expertise you have built and have become known for, and a brief description of important projects you have been a part of over this period of time. For an example, see the Wikipedia entry for Paul Farmer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Farmer
In twenty years, I will be an accomplished jewelry designer living in London. After having graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in May of 2012, I will have worked for a successful architecture firm in Manhattan for the three required years to qualify to take the licensing exam. While at the firm, I will help them develop a new technology that creates a ‘green wall’ on buildings. This sort of advancement would help buildings become more sustainable by helping insulate the building, producing oxygen and giving back to the overall appearance of the community. This sort of wall will also connect to a roof drainage and filtration system that will help drain and process water to help provide the house with a clean and efficient water supply. After another two years spent taking the exam, I will move to London with my architecture degree and license. Once there, I will start my own jewelry business that specializes in 3D modeling of unique pieces that can then be 3D printed using special machines. I will keep the business at a boutique level instead of shifting towards more costume and mass-produced jewelry. My expertise will be in metalworking skills, though I will also be able to create my own glass accents for the pieces. A rising star will purchase one of my pieces and my popularity will increase as I gain a reputation for having jewelry that was made completely from scratch and that is completely unique. While in this industry, I will work towards developing finishes that will not leak chemicals into the system in its creation process. I will also work on a way to decrease the amount of plastics used in jewelry. Most costume jewelry can be made with real materials for only a little bit more than the fake pieces that are made and imported in from China. By using proper techniques to make the pieces last longer, and by pushing quality over quantity, I will make a major impact in the jewelry design world. A university will ask me to teach design classes and I will then be able to teach both the architectural design I learned in school and at the firm, but also the marketing and selling skills that are also needed to be a successful designer, which is an aspect that is often overlooked in school. I will also be married and have two children and a cat and a dog.
[1] Manufactured Landscapes.
[2] The Persuaders
[3] The Yes Men Fix the World.
[4] The Corporation
[5] Blue Gold
[6] The Persuaders
[7] The End of the Line.
[8] Panacea or Poison? dir. Josh Shore, 2005.
[9] What’s On Your Plate?
[10] The Corporation
[11] Bill Moyers interview with Jon Stewart.
[12] The Yes Men Fix The World
[13] The Persuaders
[14] The Persuaders
[15] The End of the Line
[16] http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/2010-03-23-lastsupper23_ST_N.htm